A
female
age
26-29,
anonymous
writes:I have a question that is not really related to relationships but a lot of the people on this site seem to have very good insight. You see, in the long run, I wish to be an artist. I want to be a great performing artist and writer. I want to write my own song lyrics, my own stories and such as well as sing and dance.But my dad wants me to go into college to study to be a chemist/ scientist so that I can maintain myself. And I didn't used to agree then but I do now and I will follow his advice. Plus, it kind of seems pretty badass to like...be a scientist and a damned good artist at the same time XD.I really do like science too, and psychology. However, as I am studying for my greater education, if there are any extracurricular activities at my college for any type performing arts like dancing, acting. I'd love to take as many classes as I can.What I wanted to ask is, because, I go to a creative arts school for creative writing where I live and then a regular school, but I want to audition for theater next year to hone my performance skills because I haven't performed anything in a while and I x_x think I've gotten a little rustyAnd I don't want that. My question is, is theater or musical theater a good way to prepare to be like a great performing artist even if you don't solely want to act?My friend tells me that Theater is one of the most difficult disciplines at the school we go to(She's a student in that department) and that if you don't apply yourself, you're through. She says, they read books and take tests every week, they take movement classes(yoga, tai-chi, pilates, etc), and acting classes and memorize huge monologues and they must apply whatever the teachers teach them.Now, even though I love acting, I don't solely want to be an actor, I want to ..like you know what the performing artists do on MTV? The ones that don't just stand and sing. I wanna do that. And I'm wondering if theater will help me.To prepare myself for movement, I wanted to just condition my body by myself, now and over the summer. two weeks ago, I started doing like 30-40 minutes of cardio(plus some core training and 5lb weight lifting) now this week I do like 60-70 minutes of cardio a day.....im crazy I know at sixteen but don't worry I've done 60 minutes before I started this whole thing. My only problem is stretching x_x I like just stretch my arms before I lift weights....and that's really bad XD so I'm gonna add that to my list today or next week. But I've started eating healthy too, I make sure to drink a cup of milk a day and I made my dad buy me yogurt and fruit and stuff like that.On top of that, every summer I take dance classes(4 week INTENSIVE training) and we work from 9:00 to 3:45(aha, ten minute breaks in between plus lunch)...trust me that's not... a lot it's still hard but I looove dance so it's cool.So, I think ALL of this from September to August(2013) I should be well conditioned if I stay dedicated.This school year I really wanna apply myself to my craft....as well as regular school too :PSo, yes that question I'd like to ask, and any tips, warnings(things I should be cautious about), any colleges you guys would recommend, I'd love to hear them, even if it's a little harsh(like reality check type things, that'd be great!) just please don't be mean XP I understand I'm a very ambitious child when it comes to my craft. Like I am into boys(I love boys) ...so many cute boys at the school I go to but this year and the next I really wanna try to just focus on what I NEED to do, it'll be hard but there will always be guys and I've learned after an incident that if I like someone to not crush on them for MONTHS because then I won't be able to focus. No! Tell them you like them and wanna get to know them and forever hold your peace _ if they don't want to, cool you can be friends, if they do, ALGEBRAIC :D!Ahaha, but yeah, any kind of insight would be nice(sorry this is so long. I'm a real talker, fml)
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male
reader, Fatherly Advice +, writes (22 January 2013):
 Wow it is really rare for a question to sit this many months here without a reply. I'm surprised that I haven't seen it before today. It is almost pointless to answer a question this old as the original poster has probably forgotten it.
The question touches on some of the areas of my experience so I'm willing to give some general advice. I come from an artistic family and I have been involved in theater, not Musical theater.
Like you I had a good aptitude for science in high School but didn't quite know where to go with it. I opted for engineering only to find that I didn't really fit in there. The engineers were so focused and single minded that they didn't seem to know how to have fun. Even now when I meet engineers in the course of my work they seem so driven and single minded. Some times the sciences can be so competitive that the people get lost.
I like that you spend a good part of your summers out of the books and working with your physical self. This is a good way to keep your personality well rounded. People with hobbies and avocations are more interesting. They also tend to be more stable. I think that you should continue to pursue artistic outlets for your creative energy.
Having said that, your Dad is right that you should probably focus on areas that are most likely to generate good income for you. Very few dancers or writers or actors, or musicians or athletes for that matter, make enough money to survive on. A college degree will do more to open doors of good employment that anything else you can do. It really doesn't matter what the degree is. My Father spent very little of his working life in the area of his degree.
As far as the choice of universities, go and visit them. Meet people in all the departments you are interested in. Ask them about performing groups for non majors. You will have more opportunities to perform in smaller schools.
As far as the boys, your attitude seems age appropriate from my point of view. You probably feel that you don't quite fit in. That's o k you will know when you are ready.
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